Marching in Love Band Hurts
by openhearted
Summary: Its about a girl and what she goes through during her Marching Band season at her High School. I hope you like it. Summary sucks but the story is good.
1. 1st day of Band Camp

The main Characters name is Maria McCarthy. I will be writing from her point-of-view.

List of Characters:

Maria McCarthy- Colorguard member

Parker White- Saxophone (ex boyfriend)

Diane Clark- Colorguard member (best friend)

Nicole Marsh- Flute

Angelica Nerms- Bass Drum 1

Brittany Brock- Clarinet

And other Characters you will be introduced to throughout the story.

! Please go easy on me its my 1st!

**Chapter 1**

"Beep Beep Beep Beep" the alarm clock sounded at 7:00.

I growled and shut it off. Today was the 1st day of Band camp. I took a shower and ate breakfast then I sat and watched T.V. until my ride arrived.

"Today is going to be rough" I thought to myself, "I hope I make it."

My ride came from one of my best friends Diane Clark. We spent most the summer before now together, practicing routine and trying to improve our skills. We rode silently to _Knoxville HS _in Columbus, South Carolina. We arrived and went into our Band Room.

When 8:00 on the dot arrived our Band Director Mark Johnson walked in and sat down.

"Good morning, and welcome to the 1st day of _The Marching Tigers Band _camp. I am Mark Johnson your band director and today is the start of a wonderful band season." He continued to talk for a while longer and I dazed off. "You're dismissed, be on the parking lot in 10 minutes."

We walked out and I saw him...Parker White. My ex-boyfriend, the guy that I love so much. He broke up with me over 2 months ago, and now he goes out with Nicole Marsh a flute player. I envy her so. But parker and I are in love; I don't know what happened. I smiled as I walked past him and after that I couldn't stop thinking about him. I thought about the girls that liked him. This girl named Brittany who I didn't even know were friends and one of his friends Angelica. I'm positive they don't love him like I do, but it hurts especially when he says he loves Nicole.

When I came back from thinking we were starting to plot drill. It's a long hot process but it must be done. We sat and did that for 2 hours, then we got our break. We got off for an hour. For lunch I had a sandwich, and I sat alone by the drink machines. Lunch went by so slow. The rest of the day after lunch was the same plotted drill and just thought. I thought about my life and how unhappy I was, and about Parker and how much I missed him. At 4:00 my mom and me took Diane home and I went home and took a nap. The rest of the day I just moped around and listened to sad songs. I know pitiful. Well that was my first day of band camp.

"I survived" I thought, "It's a miracle." With that I went to bed.


	2. Something of Value

Note

The lyrics of "Something of Value" are not mine they belong to yellowcard. Just as if i were to put any other song lyrics those lyrics belong to the artist unless i post otherwise.

**Excerpt from Something of Value-Yellowcard**

_"All that I needed to hear from you_

_something of value but something untrue_

_all that I wished that I'd find within you_

_See how what she wanted and she needed_

_tore it all down in the end_

_some how like a sickness she infects me_

_She's simple but deadly my friend_

_All that I needed to hear from you_

_something of value but something untrue_

_all that I wished that I'd find within you_

_stings when I see all the ways that you_

_took me for granted and told me its through_

_picked from my pockets and smiled_

_empty is nothing and nothing is you_

_I think I'll just sit for awhile_

_for awhile....."_

P.S. Thanks for the reviews I've gotten so far. I'll try better on my grammer and I'm trying to make this chapter longer, for the first chapter I just wanted something to start with. Thanks you guys!

**Chapter 2-Something of Value**

Well this morning same routine over again. We went to the parking lot and started to plot drill. Our captain Lashay was counting off my spot when all of a sudden

"MO JO JOJO!" Our Drum Major Jennifer said.

"Oh my god!" I laugh "Mo jo jojo" I repeated "that is hilarious. While me and my friend Katie cracked up laughing at the mishap of our drum major we missed the Attention call, but luckily J (Mr. Johnson) did hear us. We quickly got up and went to attention.

"Does it really take this long to plot drill people???" He yelled, "Could we please hurry up a bit or are we going to have to have practice till 8:00 tonight?" Grumbles erupted "exactly, speed it up please!"

My morning continued like that until lunch. For lunch I decided to walk with Parker, Nicole, Angelica and Diane. I mostly stayed behind them with Diane, I really didn't want to be there but it felt so good to be near Parker again. I hadn't even talked to him in so long. I was in heaven for most of lunch just thinking about him. We started back and realized we only had 10 minutes left until lunch was over! We ran and made it back with two minutes to spare

"Ok, I know this is going to be a disaster but let's try to play and march what we have plotted, color guard just march your spots." J said.

All of a sudden you start to hear a mixture of tubas, saxophones, trumpets and drums playing.

Jennifer started to conduct, "Tup tup tup tup tup tup" you heard the opening notes and then you saw J stop us.

"Ok let's just march for now." He said

"Well it's a start" I said to myself "now I can't wait to get my flag."

About 20 minutes later you heard J say "5-minute break now, MOVE!"

I went and sat on the sidewalk and drank my water. Then I felt someone come sit down beside me. It was Parker.

"Hey" he said

I replied with a simple "Hi"

"What's up?"

"Nothing, just being tired and hot." Which was the truth, I just left some things out.

"I haven't talked to you in a while, I might try and call you tonight, I'd like to talk to you."

"That's cool" I said "I must sound stupid" I said to myself.

Parker got up and left, and the whole rest of the day we said nothing to each other. I saw him as I was leaving, but I also saw something that made my heartbreak. I saw him kiss her. It killed me inside, but I guess I should have expected it. I just got in my car and stared out the window. I turned on my CD player and Yellowcard lyrics leaked into my ears.

_"I'm finding my own words, my own little stage My own epic drama, my own scripted page I'll send you the rough draft, I'll seal it with tears Maybe you'll read it and I'll reappear From the start it was shaky and the characters rash, A nice setting for heartache where emotions come last All I have deep inside, to overcome this desire Are friendly intentions and fair-weather smiles"_

I sat on my bed for the longest time, pretending to read a book. I just sat there and thought about him again. "I need my best friend." My best friend is Lisa Wolfe. She moved away to Florida about a month ago. She knew everything about me and she was the one who completely understood me. I missed her so much. It's sometimes to think about my life without her being there everyday, she was the first to know about everything. I hate the Army sometimes. I told her my mom would adopt her, but as you can see that didn't work. I miss her though and sometimes it's just so hard not to have her there. I laid in bed thinking about two most important people to me, Lisa and Parker, neither of them I have anymore.

Today we got off, because it was supposed to reach temperatures of 110 degrees. I slept in until I heard the phone ring and someone answered it. I listened intensely hoping it was Parker, he never called. I was disappointed again. I got up and took a shower and brushed my teeth. Then I went and watched Spiderman. I finally got bored out of my mind and went to practice my routine. I smacked myself a good 10 times when I finally got dizzy and called it a day on routine.

I went into my room and pulled out my box of letters. I read everyone with such concentration; I could remember the first time I read each it. They made me cry. There were letters from Parker and a lot of them talked about him never wanting to lose me and how much he loved me. I couldn't help but to cry. I remember all the time when he told me he couldn't break up with me and how he never liked anybody but me. I knew it was all lies now. When he wrote them they weren't but now they are. He hurt me so bad. I just closed my box and hide them away. All I could do was cry myself to sleep.


	3. On Drama and Brokenhearts

Please read and review. I hope it's good. I'm really debating on wether I should only add like 3 more chapters.

**Chapter 3- On Drama and Brokenhearts**

The first week of band camp went by fast. There is only one more week, and then school and afternoon practices begin. I noticed that Angelica and Parker were getting kind of close. I didn't particularly like this, and I could tell Nicole didn't either. Nicole and me were talking now, and she was really confiding in me. It felt really odd. She told me how she felt she was losing Parker and that she thought something had happened between Parker and Angelica. I knew nothing had though. I was starting to get put in the middle of things. Parker would talk to me about Nicole, and Nicole would talk to me about Parker. I knew sooner or later they would break up, which was kind of bittersweet for me. I knew Parker still loved, but I also knew he kind of loved Nicole. Hard to explain really.

That Monday in band camp, Parker and me went to lunch. It was pretty fun, I actually was happy with myself. I laugh for the first time in ages, it felt like. Nothing happened, we just talked. When we got back to the school we went inside the band room and we saw Nicole talking to Nick. Nick is a Bari-sax player. He's very tall, but he's pretty cool, although I know one of my friends on Guard is in love with him. Marching band is full of drama.

(Flashback) Our senior captain Hope was talking to J and she told him "This year is a Drama free guard." J just laughed at her and said "without drama there would be no Guard."

(Present Time) That statement is very true. Drama started at the very beginning. People not coming to practice, people not attending get togethers, people just not concentrating and of course our instructor Bonnie Walters, was writing our routine and we still had yet to have it all finished by this week. Next week was our first game, and we have no routine for our last song. It is a very stressful situation.

When Friday rolled around something very strange happened. Nicole wanted to talk to me...in private. Honestly I was kind of scared. We walked to the Drum closet and closed the door.

"Maria, I need to talk to you." She started "I did something very very bad, I kissed Nick!"

I sat in silence just staring at her for a moment, "why me of all people would tell this too?" I asked myself "I don't want to know this, this is not good."

"Wow" I said to her

"I know, I don't know what to do Maria!"

"You have to tell him, this is not something that he should find out from someone else. You have to talk to him."

"I will oh my god Maria, I am so scared. I know talking to him is the right thing though. I really like Nick maybe it's time that Parker and me broke up. Were too much alike that we get on each other's nerves. Thanks for being there for me Maria."

She got up and hugged me and left. I just sat there thinking about what happened. I knew she was going to break up with him and that was great, but I knew Parker would be crushed. I don't want him to hurt. I walked out of the closet and went outside to practice, I didn't have to but I needed to get my mind off of Parker and Nicole. It was eating me up inside.

That night Parker called me. We talked for hours. He even cried, which made me cry. I can't stand to see him hurting, and just seeing guys cry tears me up inside. I just listened to him, which is what he needed. I told him I would give him a hug tomorrow if he needed one.

He said "I don't want to come to practice, but I have to, Stupid Pictures."

"I know" I said, "but I get to wear my new uniform" We talked for a little longer, and finally I had to go.

"Parker," I said "I love you"

"Ok" he said.

That broke my heart. I know he didn't want to answer, but he needed to hear it. It just broke my heart for him not to tell me it back. With that we got off the phone and I sat there thinking. I had to classes with Parker in school. I really think there is a good shot of us getting back together. Which is great, I just wish I didn't have to wait.

The next morning I got up at 9:00 so I could do my hair for pictures. For Guard we wear out hair in a pony tail with it curled on the ends. Our show theme this year is Grease. So we wear poodle skirts and a button up sweater. It looks very cute. I went up to the school and walked into the band room. There were band members changing everywhere. I walked to the dressing room, where the Guard was and saw my uniform. All of the Guard was in there changing. I put on my Blue skirt and white Sweater and put my blue ribbon in my hair. When all the guard was finished, we took a group shot on a digital camera. We all looked so good. All of different colored uniforms looked great, and I couldn't wait for when we got to perform in them. The marching band walked down there and we arranged ourselves on the bleachers. The drumline was on the first row with the Drum majors separating our Drummers in half. Then our pit, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, bass clarinets, trumpets, trombones, mellofones, baritones, tubas and last but certainly not least the guard. The picture went ok, until individual shots came, it had just rained that morning and the field was soaked. Our white shoes had grass all over them and we had to keep out shirts pulled up so they wouldn't get dirty. After pictures we didn't have practice so I went home.


	4. On Thimbles and Wheelbarrows

**Ch. 4- On Thimbles and Wheelbarrows**

I arrived at the school the next day and there was no sign of J. I saw our drum major at the podium. At 8:00 she announced J would no be there and she was running a short practice inside. She also said there would be no practice tomorrow. The guard was free to go home and the band was just going to run through the show. I stayed for a while and listen to the band play _Grease, You're the one that I want_, and _Greased lightning_. They sounded really good. After they ran through it a couple of times, the band was dismissed and I asked if Parker would take me home. His mother said it was all right and we headed to my house. Parker and me talked for a while on the way home and then when we got to my house, he gave me a hug and left. For about an hour after that I smiled.

At 2:00 that day I called Lisa. We talked for hours. I let out everything. I told her everything that happened. I spilled out my true feelings. I had never done that before. It felt good. When Lisa and me got off the phone I called Ashanti. Ashanti is one of my other best friends. Because of band I really haven't spent much time with Ashanti or Morgan. Lisa, Ashanti, Morgan, and me used to be so close. I miss those days. They were great. We were the 4 Musketeers. Since Lisa left we haven't spent much time together, but I was about to change that.

When I called Ashanti she was free, so we 3-wayed Morgan and decided to hang out. They came over to my house and we played monopoly all night.

"I get the Thimble" I yelled

"No way, everytime you have the thimble you win! I get the thimble!" Ashanti yelled.

"No i get it" Morgan said.

We all scramble for it and I got it.

"Ha it's mine!"

"I have the Wheelbarrow" Morgan yelled.

"No I do!" Ashanti said.

We all fell out laughing for a bout 10 minutes.

It was the most fun I had in forever. We stayed up all-night and talked. I just wished Lisa were there too. That morning we made breakfast together and hung out some more. It was good to be with my friends again. At 2:00 they left and I started watching Now and Then. It was a movie Morgan and me used to watch when we were younger. The rest of the day went by fast. Parker called me and we talked for about an hour. We decided he would come over that weekend and we would hang out.

Friday I walked into the band room and there was a note on the board to stay in the band room. We all sat in there and waited for J. He walked in and started talking.

"Good morning." He started "I'm sorry for being out I've been sick. Well next week is our first football game. Our first competition is in 3 months. We still have a lot to do. So let's get started. We've started off a good season. Outside!"

We went outside and finished up the drill for you're the one. We ran marched through Grease and you're the one a couple times and took a break. We then took You're the one set by set to make sure there were no big problems and made sure we knew it. We took lunch and Parker and me walked around campus searching for vending machines. We got some of the Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich things and headed back to the band room. We sat and talked for a while about things going on. It was good. After lunch the band and the Guard spilt up. The band ran through some songs and we went to go learn some of our routine. We were ending You're the One and finally moving on to Greased Lightning. We had waited to learn the rest of our routine. We were getting restless. After 3 hours of this practice was over. I went home took and shower and then my mom took me and my sister out to eat.

When I got home I got online and started to write on journal. When I finished I searched through some of the Band people's. I came across Brittany's journal. I started crying as I read it. It talked about Parker and how much she loved him. It said how I didn't deserve him because he was too good for me, and She should be with him. I closed it fast and tried to forget what I just read. It upset me so bad. I sent and IM to Ashanti and told her all about it. She calmed me down and told it would be ok. Then Lisa got online and she told me that she had already read it. She said it all wasn't true and that I deserved him. At 9:00 that night I decided to go to bed. It had been a long day.

The next morning was Saturday. I got up early and cleaned my room. Today was the day that Parker was coming. I took a shower and straightened my hair. I straightened up the rest of the house and called him and told him it was ok to come over. He was at my house about 20 minutes later. We talked for about an hour first and then went and ate. After that we went in my room and put in a movie. We sat on the floor and he put his arms around me. It felt so good. I hadn't felt that in so long. I was in Heaven

"Maria" Parker started

"Yes" I said.

"Will you go out with me?"

I looked up at him and smiled "Yes, of course"

He smiled and kissed me. It was heaven the rest of the night.


	5. Back to school We Go

I believe I'm going to continue thisalot longer, because 2 of my friends think it is very good. They can't wait for more hehe. So REVIEW PEOPLE! lol thanks..enjoy..I know this chapter is kind of short. Please forgive me, been busy with school, but I should have about 2 chapter up by Monday. Thanks!

**Ch.5-Back to School We Go**

Sunday came and went. Then it was Monday. No Practice because J wanted to give us a day off before school started. I really wanted to see Parker but I could stand it until Tuesday. Tuesday was the first day of school. I was starting to get very nervous about it. Parker called me, and I asked him about his schedule.

"I have 1st period Spanish, 2nd period English, 3rd period Geometry and 4th period history. What about you?" He said

"I have the same, except I have PE 4th period." I said

"That's great I get you almost all day"

"Yep, this should be a great semester" I smiled to myself.

We talked for longer and right before he left, we were talking about being back together.

"I am so happy with you baby" Parker said.

"Same here." I replied.

"I love you Maria"

I smiled and replied "I love you too Parker."

With that we got off the phone and got to sleep to get ready for the 1st day of school.

I got up the next morning to the sound of my alarm clock. I got dressed and went through the whole morning routine. I watched my daily Spiderman at 7 and waited for Parker to pick me up 7:30. We arrived at school hand in hand. We saw a lot of our friends from middle school in the school gym. It was our first day of High School so I was kind of scared. I felt comfort in seeing my friends. I saw Ashanti, Morgan, my ex-boyfriend David, and some of my other friends. Parker saw some of his too. As soon as we walked into the Gym Brittany was staring at us... it was a little bit scary. When we sat down she practically ran over to us and sat down beside Parker

"HI GUYS!" She said.

"Hey" we both muttered.

"How are ya'll doing?"

"We're great" Parker said as he grabbed my hand.

"Oh I see you two are back together."

"Yea I asked her out Friday, I love Maria so much" Parker said.

"Ok well that's good, I'll see ya'll at practice" Brittany said as she pouted away.

Parker busted out laughing.

"You're so mean to her!" I said, as I started laughing.

"I know but she's so annoying and she's like obsessed with me"

"I know" I said.

The bell rang and we had to find our homeroom, sadly Parker and me were separated, stupid last names. We ended up staying in Homeroom all day. There were so many schedules to fix and classes to find. We stayed in there all day and went over the code of conduct and our school rules. We had a 9th grade assembly where our principal Mr. Walker came and talked to us. It was so boring. I dozed the whole time. We went back to homeroom and our bell to go home rang at 3:20. I met up with Parker in the Band room. From there we had to go outside.

J had us run threw the 1st 2 songs. Then marched and played it. I was so excited this was the first time we got to do routine. It felt good to start practicing with it. I enjoyed it a lot. I dropped my flag about 4 times. Not bad for my real first time running through the 2 songs. We just ran through the show a couple times the practice was over. MY first day of school was good. Tomorrow would be the real test though.

"Can I get to my classes? Will I still get to see all of friends? Are the teachers mean? Most importantly when do I have lunch?!?!" I thought to myself and laughed.


	6. Geometry is the English of Math

Thanks for the comment Red Hawk. Could you leave me an example next time please, thanks. Well yea hope ya'll had a good thanksgiving.

**Ch.6-Geometry is the English of Math**

It was the 2nd day of school. Parker and me got to school a little late and had to hurry to get to Spanish 1. We walked in and to seats in the middle of the room. The bell rang and our Spanish teacher walked to the front of the classroom. She was a short woman with brown hair and she spoke English Horribly.

"Hola" Mrs. Perez said.

You heard a grumble of hello's, hey's and hola's from her class.

"This year is going to be good, good year. I only have you for 4 semesters, so we must move fast."

"You mean grading periods" someone said in the class.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry, my English isn't that good."

I could tell already that this was going to be an interesting year. The rest of the class Mrs. Perez talked to us and found out how much Spanish we had taken in the past. I was so happy when the bell rang. Parker and me walked to our English class. English has never been one of my favorite classes, so I wasn't particularly looking forward to this. We walked in and the teacher had nametags on the desks, we had to find our names and sit there. As I searched for mine I saw a couple that made me smile. Ashanti and Morgan were in there, as well as some of my friends from middle school. Parker sat in front of me. I also saw Brittany's name. She sat next to me.

"One time I really wish he wanted us to be in alphabetical order" I grumbled to myself.

The rest of the class filed in and we all started talking. Then a tall man walked in and introduced himself.

"Good morning class, I am Mr. Adams, I am your English teacher as you can tell."

Andrew a trumpet player in the band sat behind me and in my ear he said "Look Maria, he has a wig one!"

I crackup laughing and hit his knee.

"No really Maria, look when he moves his head it moves with him."

I hit him harder as I laughed and he finally stopped. Mr. Adams started talking to us about his past.

"Well I want to tell you all this before I started getting picked on for it. Yes I have on a wig." He took it off and showed us.

"I am not ashamed to flaunt it, and my kids usually enjoy me goofing off with it and playing pranks on me concerning it. I am a teacher that enjoys humor, so I encourage pranks and such. There is although a time to be serious, so you must listen to me when I say so, or I will stop all humor in this class."

He seemed alright to me. So I decided to listen to him the whole time for once. Then when the bell rang we had to go to Homeroom. I headed to the other end of the building and walked into my homeroom. My teacher passed out some more papers and took roll. Then an announcement came on the intercom.

"All band students please report to the Band Room, now!" It ordered.

I raised my hand and my teacher let me leave. I met up with some of the other Color guard girls on my way there. We all went inside the band room and sat down. J just cancelled practice and then let us go to our 3rd period.

Parker and me walked into Mrs. Baker's Geometry class and she had seats in alphabetical order. She took roll, and started talking about geometry.

"Geometry is not a regular math" she started; "you deal a lot with shapes, theorems, postulates and proofs."

"Geometry sounds like English" Stephanie said. Stephanie is in our band also; she is in the pit.

"Geometry is the English of Math. I'm so excited about this semester, I have reviewed all of your algebra 1 grades and I am so surprised to have such a big Honors class."

She looked around the room "I am very please to see that most of you are freshman. I have heard there are 2 main groups of students that will be in Geometry as freshman. That is a very good thing."

We all started to ask questions and then the bell rang for lunch. Lunch was packed. It was refreshing though. We got back to class and had 20minutes left. She told some things were going to cover in the next 2 weeks and then the bell rang. Parker and me parted ways and I went to PE. We just sat on the bleachers the whole time and listened to Mr. Rowe goof around about gym. He was a really funny guy. Class went by fast and after class I went home on the bus. It was so boring not having practice.


	7. Rumors

**Comment please! I don't this chapter is that good, but I tried to make it long and make it good! Tell me what you think.**

**The lyrics used in this Chapter are _Yellowcard _lyrics from their song _Inside Out._**

**Ch.7-Rumors**

School went by fast. My Spanish class quickly realized that our teacher Mrs. Perez could not teach. We would ask her questions and she would just yell and say something about, Spanish takes time or if the students do not listen then the teacher is a bad teacher. Mrs. Baker was all right she really nice. We started actual work in Geometry, I hated it already. English was boring, as english always is. Then finally practice came. I really didn't expect much out of it, but I was so wrong.

Parker and me walked into the band room and it just seemed like it usually did. I took my clothes out of my bag and went to change. When I was done I looked in the mirror to put my hair up. Kathy one of the guard members came up to me.

"Hey Maria, I want to ask you something" Kathy said.

"Shoot" I replied.

"Umm...I've heard that Parker kissed Angelica Sunday night. Is it true?"

I looked at her in disbelief; "I have no idea what you're talking about Kathy."

"Oh never mind then, I guess it's just rumors."

I was very shook up by this conversation. I wasn't sure what to think. I had two other people come up to me on my way back to the band room. Hope came and hugged me and told me she was sorry. Then some Saxophone named Megan that I didn't even know, told me that she knew how I felt and was sorry. I felt so lost about the whole situation. I decided just to brush it off. When I walked in the band room the whole room suddenly looked at me. I walked over to my stuff and I could hear Kathy saying something in the distance.

"The poor thing, she wont even admit it to herself" She said to Katie.

I walked over to my cubby to put my bag up and heard several other conversations.

"I heard that Parker and Angelica hooked up Friday, Saturday and Sunday night!" I heard a baritone player say.

One of the Drummers said "I couldn't believe he would kiss three other girls while going out with her. My god they've only been going out for 6 days!"

I tried my best to ignore it all, and searched for Parker. He was no where to be found.

"That's strange I thought to myself."

I saw Angelica talking to her friend Michelle; usually I could find Parker with them, but didn't. I faintly heard him talking outside. I peeked out the door and saw him giving Brittany a hug. This upset me very much, especially in light of what I had been hearing. I decided I would ask Parker about it later, and hope no big rumors, would become of this. It was odd how the whole band knew before I did. It is said though if something happens in band it spread like wildfire.

We stayed inside today, because it was so hot outside. I kept seeing people look back at me, and Parker seemed strangely distant. I was starting to wonder if part of what I was hearing was true. I didn't know what to think anymore. My mom called my cell phone and told me I had to leave for a doctor's appointment. I kissed Parker goodbye and told J what was going on. He gave a sympathetic look.

"Has he heard too?" I thought.

I left the band room and went to my Doctor's appointment. I temporarily forgot about Parker and the rumors. I got home and started reading people's journals online. I came across Lily's, she is a Clarinet player, She said that she thought it was sad was Parker did to me and sent me a shout out saying how sorry she was. I was really starting to get tired of all this crap. I didn't even want to talk to Parker anymore. I just laid in bed listening to Yellowcard.

"_Here. A little jealousy I hope you think of me Hope you wonder where I sleep at night Cause I feel like I'm inside out You got me upside down Maybe I was holding on too tight" _

"I hope all these rumors are not true. I don't know what I would do." I said to myself. (Note she's not crazy, just thinking out loud.)

"I'm not sure my heart could take it. He has already put me through so much." I sighed.

The night continued on and I got some phone calls from some friends. All of them wanting to know what happened. I just wish I would have known myself. I called Lisa and told her all about my day. I asked her what I should do. She said to talk to Parker. I knew it was the right thing to do. I was just scared to find out the truth. He has been acting strange.

"I don't know anything anymore."

I then called Ashanti and asked her if she knew anything about it. She didn't so I told her everything. She listened. I talked to her for a while and then got off the phone. I turned on CSI and watched it. CSI is one of my favorite shows. I fell asleep while watching it. I woke up late the next morning because I never set my alarm. I rushed to get ready and Parker showed up. We were quite the whole time.

We got to school and we sat down in the gym. A couple of my friends came and sat with us and talked to us. Well I talked back; Parker was kind of distance. I was starting to believe more and more that the rumors were true. The bell rang and class went by fast. I was so happy when practice came that I forgot about the rumors. It was our first football game! We ran through the show and he told us we would only do 2 songs tonight. That was fine for me, I was just so excited about my first game. I went home to eat and got ready for the game. We weren't wearing our uniforms tonight so we just wore shorts and our band shirts.

The time had come. We lined up to march in. I was getting butterflies. The guard lined up first and we all started talking.

"Oh my god guys. I am so nervous" I said.

"Don't be nervous honey; You'll do great" Kathy said. The others nodded. We all huddled together and did a quick prayer. We lined up again and got ready to march on. The Drumline started the tups.

"Mark time mark and one, two, ready move!" J shouted.

Then we started to march on to the field.


	8. The Rumors are Unmasked

Hey guys, I'm sorry I messed up somewhere. In Ch. 4 I stated that our 1st competition would be in three months, well it actually should be two. I'm sorry. Thanks for the comments red hawk, I'll work on it. Sorry it took awhile to update I have been busy settling some stuff with an "acquaintance" lol. COMMENT GUYS! PLEASE!

**Ch.8-The Rumors are Unmasked**

It was such a rush to march onto the field for the 1st time. I was so nervous though. We marched around our track outside the football field and marched up the bleachers to our cadence. The guard went up to the very top. At the bottom was the drumline. The announcer started to introduce the game. He introduced the football team.

"Please give a round of applause, for our Knoxville High School Marching Tigers!!" He said.

We all started cheering, and so did the crowd. We were a legend in our town. We had won 4 Grand Champions last year and we were the best marching band around. If the people in the stands were not there for the football team, they were there for us. We won Grand Champions 4 times last year. Our first competition in 2months, we were going to be defending that title.

The game went by fast, and before I knew it the Guard was going down to the track to get ready for the show. We had five minutes to go, and the guard went to the part of the field that we started on. The buzzer rang, and the football team ran off. The guard ran on and plotted our stuff and then we ran behind the band. The announcer once again introduced us and we ran on to the field.

Jennifer started, "Tup, tup tup tup tup tup."

The opening sounds of Grease started. We went through two songs in 8 minutes. We then ran off the field and J told us we did a good job for a first show. All of the sections go together to congratulate each other. The guard got together and we started saying what we did wrong. All in all we didn't do bad at all. We got third quarter off, and I spent it with Parker. I decided not to ask him about the Angelica situation. We had a good third quarter; I was kind of tired though. We went back to the stands at fourth quarter and played some more. After the game J called us all down to the bottom of the bleachers.

"You all did great tonight," he said "I was very proud."

We walked back to the band room and relaxed for a little bit. Then Parker took me home. He walked me to my door, and kissed me goodnight. I walked in and told my mom about my first football game.

"It was great," I said "I can't wait until next week, our first away game." I smiled.

I took a shower and then went online. I posted on my online journal, and then read some of my friend's journals. I came across Brittany's journal again.

Brittany's Journal entry

_August 20, 2004_

_Today was our first game. We rocked. I watched Parker all night, he is so handsome! I love him. I think he likes me too! After the game though I started crying because I saw Parker and Maria holding hands in the band room. It broke my heart. I don't think they will last much longer though, Parker kissed Angelica. I know it happened, I'm just waiting for her to break up with him. I hope I have a chance with him. Well I have to go. Good bye._

"I don't like her," I thought to myself.

After that I went to bed, the next day Parker was supposed to come over. I planned on talking to him then. I fell asleep thinking about what I would say to him. I was so confused about the whole situation. I wanted to know if the rumors were true, but at the same time I didn't.

Igot up and cleaned my room again. Parker came over about three o'clock. We sat in my room for awhile just watching T.V. and talking about nothing. I then decided I should talk to him.

"Parker," I said "did something happen between you and Angelica?"

"I was waiting on you to ask me that." He said.

"Well..." I said.

"I did kiss her, but it was only once. I am so sorry Maria I didn't want to!"

"Then why did you?" I said as I turned my head away.

"I don't know, It just sort of happened. I feel so bad Maria, and I promise I would never want to hurt you."

I started crying and couldn't look at him.

"Maria I love you, I really do, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"If you didn't want to hurt me Parker," I looked at him "you would have never kissed her."

"I know, but I never wanted to hurt you"

"I know, but you did. Now you have to deal with it. I'm not breaking up with you. I just think you should go for now."

"All right, I understand. I do love you Maria, honestly." He got up and called his mom. Five minutes later he was gone.

I laid in bed all night crying, and trying to think of what to do. I don't want to break up with him, but can I really trust he will never do it again? I listened to Yellowcard, they were consolers. I just sang along with the words to there song Empty Apartment.

"_Waking up from this nightmare_

_How's your life? What's it like there?_

_Is it all what you want it to be?_

_Does it hurt when you think about me?_

_And how broken my heart is..."_

I feel asleep to my music that night. I woke up about nine o'clock the next morning. I ate cereal and watched T.V. I really didn't feel like doing anything else. All I thought about all day was what I should do about Parker. It rained also, so it suited my mood perfectly. I went to bed that night still thinking. I still couldn't make up my mind.

Parker still took me to school the next morning, we rode in silence. I didn't talk to him at all that day. He didn't even look me in the eye. I guess he really did feel bad. He walked me to my locker at the end of the day. He hugged me and said, "I love you." I said it back.

"I do love him, and I don't want to leave him. But he hurt me so bad." I thought to myself as I walked to the bus. The guard didn't have practice today. I had finally made my decision. I would tell him tomorrow at school. I feel asleep that night feeling good about my decision. I felt more content than I had in several days.

Parker took me to school and again the ride was quite. The day went by fast. Parker and me walked to practice and put down our stuff. We still had 20 minutes before practice started.

"Parker, let's take a walk. We need to talk." I said.

He followed me out the door and asked, "do you hate me?"

"I could never hate you Parker, but I am still very upset about this whole thing."

"Oh, well you know I am very sorry."

"I know, but I have made my decision."


	9. Decisions and Band Busses

Review! Thanks for the ones I have gotten so far. Makes me feel great! I'm sorry it's short. I have been busy with finals and I have been sick. I wanted to go ahead and post this because I don't know if I could find anything else for this chapter. I promise there will be another chapter by the end of winter break (January 4).

**Ch.9- Decisions and Band Busses**

"I'm not going to break up with you Parker. I love you and I know that you love me too. I know that we can overcome this and our relationship will only get stronger." I said.

Parker looked me in the eyes and hugged me, "I love you Maria."

We walked back to the band room, hand in hand. I could tell that Parker was very happy. I was too. Inside I knew I had made the right decision, I just hope he never does it to me again. When we walked in the band room, the Guard looked at me. Most of them knew what was going on, but I had not told anyone of my decision except Parker. I knew that some of them would be mad at me, but at that point I didn't care, I was happy.

Mostly everyone knew my decision because of our faces. I could tell that Brittany and Angelica were not too happy though. Brittany was sure that we would break up and her and Parker would go out. I guess I ruined her plan. I guess Angelica wanted us apart too. It didn't matter what anyone else wanted though.

Practice went by fast. We ran through the show and what we would do Friday night. We weren't going to do the whole show, but the 1st two songs and then half of the last one. It was one of the best practices I have had. I felt so happy for once. I told the guard what my decision was and most of them were happy for me. A lot of them were swearing to hurt Parker if he ever hurt me again. Parker walked me to my mom's car and then I left for home. Later that night Parker called me. We talked for awhile and he finally spoke up about today.

"I'm so happy you didn't break up with me," Parker said "I'm going to be such a better boyfriend now that I know what its like to almost lose you."

I smiled, "I'm happy too. Just please don't ever make me go through any of that again."

"I'll try." He said.

After that I took my shower and went to bed. The next day went by very fast. I think I was just anxious to go to our first away game on Friday. I just knew it would be so much fun. The game is three hours away. The whole band was exited, it was the only game we would leave school early for. At practice J explained what the plan was for Friday. He said we would get out of class at two, then load the buses at two thirty. We would then stop for dinner at five o'clock, after dinner we would go to the school and then go to the game.

I woke up the next morning and I was so excited to get dressed in my band attire. The day went by so slow. I think my mind was just trying to play with me. Two o'clock finally arrived and the band was called to the band room. We loaded all our equipment onto our newly decorated trailer. We boarded our buses and left the parking lot at two thirty on the dot. For the first thirty minutes everyone just talked. Then the people in the back started singing random songs. It even got to the point of them humming stand tunes. The bus trip was pretty boring, I always heard the bus ride back was better. We arrived at the other high school at 6:30.

It was our second game. I was nervous once again for our half time performance. I don't much care for or understand football, so it usually goes by fast for me. We preformed our show, and J said it was great. The guard was so tired after it. We just sat down and talked for the rest of the game. After the game we all filed back onto the bus. On the way home Parker and me just cuddled and talked. A couple of times I thought I heard some moaning, but I really did not want to find out if I really did or not.

The bus home seemed shorter than the ride there. I know that I fell asleep on the way home though. Poor Parker, he was probably so bored. Angelica and her friend Lyndsey sat in front. Hopefully Parker played cards with them or something. We arrived at school at 12:30 AM. I walked to band room to get my stuff and collapsed on the floor, as well as a couple other band members. It had been a really hot game, and the show just wore us out. I guess the guard was lucky not to have to wear that sweater and that skirt. We would have burnt up. Parker came and laid beside me.

"How was your first away game?" He asked.

"It was great; I'm so tired though." I replied with a yawn.

"Well we have so many more games to go, plus competitions. It's going to be a great year."

I just smiled at him and closed me eyes. About five minutes later, I got up and went to my mom car outside. I don't remember anything after that. I woke up in my bed though. All I know is that the last night was one the best nights I had ever had.


	10. Ups and Downs

I lost my internet for a while sorry it's late. Hope you like it! Review!!! Sorry if theres typos, spell check thing wouldn't work.

Ch. 10-Ups and Downs

_"the radio plays a love song. I smash my fist right through the dial....here's to the broken hearted....generation born in denial."_ The Ataris

The month of October had finally rolled around. We had been practicing so hard for the competitions coming up. Our practices became an hour longer; we strived even more to make a good performance at Football games, and we all started to get into a different frame of mind.

Our first competition was at a local High School, 73rd High School. We had already played them at a game and it was..hm...Interesting to say the least. The night before the game they had left us a banner on our band trailer and one on our football field. J was angry, the band was too, but I think the football coach, Coach Parole, was the maddest.

We could all only hope they would be fair to us at competition. The competition was the first weekend of October. The whole up to that Friday, we had two-hour practices and different sections had sectionals on alternate days. Even the guard had sectionals. We were all working so hard. J told us that this schedule for practicing would probably continue for the next month.

"This is going to be so hectic." I thought to myself, "I hope I don't get to much homework."

I walked into my fourth period on Wednesday. Our health teacher decided to give us a 2 page report on the circulatory system.

"Just what I need." I thought.

As I walked into the band room after school I saw someone I never expected to see, my ex-boyfriend Dave. I wondered what he was doing there, I don't know why though he had his bass guitar in his hand. I walked over to him and asked what was going on.

"Hey Dave," I said "what are you doing here?"

"Remember that time I told you i should have joined band when I had the chance? Well I have the chance." he said.

"Oh, that's cool. So you'll be in the pit then?"

"Yep, It'll be nice to talk to you again Maria, I sort of missed it."

"Oh, yea same here," I said to be nice "I have to go get changed."

I could tell now that this was going to take a turn for the worst. I never really got too involved with Dave. We only went out for 1 month and 2 weeks of that I thought we had broke up. I wondered sometimes what would have happened. If he would loved me, if we would have lasted, how we would have acted like together, if I would have stopped comparing to him to Parker maybe we would have lasted. Parker meant so much more to me though.

We went on and practice and J introduced us to Dave at the end of class.

"Everyone gather round, gather round," J said "Everyone this is Dave our new bass guitar player. I once had bass guitar player and it brought a good thing to our band. I recruited Dave for this particular thing. Dave will be coming Saturday, but he will not be playing because he is not yet sure of the music. We should have playing by next competion. Dismissed."

On Friday night we went to the usual football. It wasn't as fun as it usually is. We lost, I guess that's a reason. The band as a whole really didn't care, we were to excited about the competition. Saturday morning I got up at nine. We had to be at school at eleven to practice for the competition. Parker came and picked me up and we got to school at 10:45. It was actually pretty hot for early morning practice, it reminded me of summer practice. I saw Dave sitting on the bleachers. He had headphones on and was practicing his music.

After and hour we made our way to 73rd. We stopped for lunch on the way there. When we arrived at 73rd there were already a lot of bands there. There was somewhere around 30 bands there. We were in class AAA. We were to perform at about 6. At 5 we had to go get changed. I thought I was going to be sick. After the guard finished changing we huddled and said a prayer, then we joined the band to warm up.

After we finished warming up, Dave came up to me and hugged me.

"This is weird." I thought.

"Good Luck Maria," he said "I know you'll do great."

"Um..you too Dave"

I walked away and went and sat by Parker.

"I hope you do great tonight honey." I said to him.

"You too baby, I love you." With that we kissed and I went off to line up with the guard.

The band before was in their second song. The whole band lined up and we were ready to go. J had given us a pep talk earlier and it really gave us a big boost of energy. He told us that we deserved to win this more than anyone else here. Even if they said we didn't win, we did, and there were so much more important competitions than this one. The band before us just finished there last song and were beginning to march off the field. The would come right past us.

"BAND ATTENT HUT!" J yelled.

"HUT!" we all screamed back.

We stood there in perfect order and silence until they passed and we started marching on.

"Mark time mark and one, two, ready, move!" J said.

We marched onto the field and the guard ran on to the field to set our equipment. We stayed in our spots, and the band was introduced. Our band ran on and the music started. Twelve minutes of our band's music and it was over. It was such a rush. I dropped my flag twice, no big deal. We marched off the field to the place where we would take pictures.

"It was not your best," J said "but is one of the best I have seen tonight so far."

It was not all good news but we would accept that for our first competition. It looked as if we even had a chance to win. We went into the stands and watched the other bands perform. They were all so good. They all had so many props too. I had never seen a show like the ones I saw then. I was starting to get butterflies in my stomach. I practically held my breath until the awards ceremony came.

They started with A, then AA. It seemed to go by in slow motion. Then AAA came.

"1st place Drumline," the announcer started "KNOXVILLE HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING TIGERS!"

We all screamed and cheered.

"1st place Colorguard...Martinsville High School." I soon felt myself become sick. "Second place Colorguard...John Smith High School."

I felt like crying, and I did. I had lost my first competition. I really thought we had a chance. Maybe we'll get third I thought to myself.

"1st place Horn Line," disapointment set in "Martinsville High school"

"2nd place Horn Line...John Smith High School."

Our whole band was dissapointed. We could the captains were too when they came back. We had one trophy. No Lie that our Drumline was one of the best around, but so was every part of our band. Dave came and hugged me, and I didn't fight it, I wasn't up to fighting anything. I walked away to Parker and collapsed in his arms. I felt so tired and so drained, I didn't know that losing could affect someone so bad.

Everyone in our band was pretty much that way. It was quiet on the bus except for a couple of people talking loud. I wish that our bus would be bustling with people smiling and laughing. I wish that we were passing around trophies for everyone to touch. I guess sometimes wishing just isn't enough sometimes, because when I open my eyes, I saw the same thing. I sure hope we don't lose this bad anymore, I'm not sure I could take it.


	11. Northwood

I had a burst of writing inspiration. After adding the new person (Dave)it gave me new ideas and everything so yea. Hopefully I will be writing more. Thanks for reading, if anyone is. Please review and tell me how you like it!

**Ch.11-Northwood**

Monday morning rolled around and I saw band people here and there. We didn't have a good weekend at all. Our morale was low, our confidence was low. This coming Saturday was the Northwood competition. They were our archrivals, ever since the 70's when Northwood stole a couple of our stuffed tigers from school and painted an eagle on the front of our school. We rivaled them in everything down to tennis. The last time we went to Northwood it was four years ago. We didn't get a fair judging, so J said he would never go there again, but this year he said we were going. I just hoped we got a fair judging here as well. Our band couldn't take another lose like 73rd.

At practice we all stayed in the band room. Our tape started from the competition and people crowded around the four televisions. We watched it like hawks, pointing out every mistake and how bad the formations looked. The tape stopped abruptly and J walked out into the middle of the room.

"Do you see this formation?" He asked loudly "it looks like shit! Watch this." We turned our attention to the televisions.

"The whole band moved left and one person went right. Look how bad that looks. That one mistake may have caused us more points than you think. Watch this. Again the whole band moves left, and this time two, TWO, people moved right and one was a captain! I know this is the first competition guys, but there is no excuse. We have worked for 4 months on these drills, and we mess it up this bad. This week we will continue to have an extra hour on practice, and every section will have sectionals every night as well. I will personally take each group and run their drill and fix what's wrong. OUTSIDE." his voice bellowed.

J is a very intimidating guy. I was scared of him when I first started. At tryouts he looks so mean. He just stared at every one of us at a time and watched every move to a point. He wasn't that bad though. He wanted to win, and that was that. He would win, and he would work us until we understood what he wanted, and I think we all wanted the same, just not quite as much as he did. We worked our asses off that day.

Tuesday came and went. Practice was hot. We went over the whole show around ten times stopping at every slightest thing to go wrong.

"Ronald!" J yelled.

"Yes" Ronald yelled back.

"Is that where you're supposed to be?"

"I'm pretty sure of it sure."

"Well your wrong..."

It went like that all afternoon. Him fixing every problem known to man. He closed in all gaps. Even changed some of the moves we did in our routine. In one part a Statue of Liberty became a Drop Spin toss, and another Drop Spin toss became an Extension. The whole band took a ten-minute break and then separated into our small groups. The guard as a whole worked on the whole show. We stopped every time someone messed up and then started over again. The guard was there the longest. We stayed two extra hours instead of one. To this day I am still not sure why people in band don't respect the guard like they should.

The whole week went by like that until we got to Friday. The board read "Stay inside." We all talked, and slept, while we waited for J. He finally came in and looked rather relaxed.

"Today I am giving you a break." A sigh of relief came over us "I realize I have been pushing you all a lot. But now Northwood has no reason not to name you Grand Champion. Today we will play stand music. Guard, I have no idea what you will be doing." The Guard groaned. "I think Bonnie is going to be working with you all."

With that we walked outside and collapsed on the ground. We all were so drained. Bonnie came outside, and as soon as she stepped around the corner, "Guard Attent Hut!"

"HUT!" We yelled back as half of us we sitting down and the other half up without flags.

"At ease everyone up, up, up. We have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in. I know it's Friday game day, so it's only an hour-long practice, but we are going to get our hours worth. Here we go, grab your flag and lets get moving. Tup, tup, tup, tup, tup, tup."

The music rang loudly in our ears as it started. We ran through the whole show and when we were done Mrs. B clapped, "That was excellent." We started to smile in what seemed like forever and actually had fun the rest of the practice. During my hour break I took a nap. Then I got right back up, jumped in the shower, and then went to the Football game. We preformed our show in what seemed like an awesome way. We had thousands of claps, even though we always did at home. We won the game. After the game, J sat us down on the bleachers and talked to us.

"Tonight mûù÷õóñTTonight mûù÷õóñïíëéçåãáßÝÛÙ×ÕÓÑÏÍËÉÇÅÃÁ¿½»¹·µ³±¯«©§¥£¡Ÿﾝ›™-•"'ﾏ-•"'ﾏ-•"'ﾏ

"You did great Dave. I am so proud of you."

"Thank you Maria." He said as he hugged me back. Then he kissed me on the cheek and said "you did great tonight too."

I was somewhat stunned when he walked away. Dave and I had never even come close to kissing on the cheek when we were dating. Dave was a good friend of mine, but we hadn't even talked much since we broke up. I was not sure what to think about it. I walked back to Parker and leaned back in his strong arms until I had to leave. I'm not quite sure what I should think. This couldn't at all be good for where am I at now.

I woke up the next morning and went to the school. I was tired and kind of grouchy. I went and sat on my starting spot on the football field. We started ten minutes later. Practice was long, two hours. Then we boarded the busses and headed off to Northwood. We were in the AA class. It was twelve and we preformed at 5:00. When we got their, our guide was nice. They walked us to our dressing rooms and we all changed. It was a really hot day to be wearing our poodle skirts, but you gotta do what you gotta do. After changing we went straight to warming up. The guard practice separate for a while and then we joined with the band. We went over key parts of the show. Then we all kneeled down together and said The Lord's Prayer."

We got in our lines and settled down. We marched out to the field and waited for the school in front of us to finish. I started to get those butterflies again. There show ended and once there last person was off the field we moved forward and then stopped. We waited for J's cue.

"BAND ATTENT HUT!" J yelled.

"Hut!" We all yelled back.

"Mark time mark and one, two ready move!" With that we all started on our left feet and marched onto the green stage.

This time the Guard stood with the band. Our runners planted our flags. We stood behind our prop. It was of the High School in the movie Grease.

"Knoxville High School" the announcer started "you may now take the field for competition."

We all ran out on to the field. The music started and we all put every ounce of energy we had into our performance that night. When it was over, everyone was raving. J said it was the best he had seen us perform yet. Mrs. B said that she only saw 3 or 4 drops through the whole performance. We all were so happy with our performance. We knew that we would have a much better time that night than the last competition. We were release on break and we all hit the snack bar. Parker and I shared a pizza. It was at least 3 hours before the awards were to be announced. There had been a break between Class AA and AAA. When the band captains and directors began going out to the field we all waited anxiously.

Of course they started with Class A. It seemed like forever until they got to Class AA. They started with the ratings.

"Knoxville High School" the announcer started "Excellent"

We all jumped up and yelled. We hadn't yet improved from 73rd, but I knew we would. Then they went on to Drumline.

"1st place Drumline...Knoxville High School." The Screams erupted from us all again.

Colorguard

"1st Place Colorguard...Knoxville High School." We all screamed again. The whole guard hugged, and we watched proud as our Captains brought back the trophy.

We went on to sweep the category, so we won the Class AA 1st place trophy. We didn't win Grand Champion, but came in third out of every band there. I think that's all our band needed. We needed to feel what it was like to win, and boy did we know it. We marched out of Northwood last night. Every band member with a smile on there face. If it felt this good just win in our class, then Grand Champion must feel great. The band huddled together when we got back to the busses.

"We did it. We won Tigers!" J said. Yeas and yay's and even some hell yeas came from the crowd.

"We came here with a mission, and we completed. We didn't get Grand Champion, but sure did get what we worked for! There were two bands better then us, I can accept that. But we swept our class guys. We beat every band in our category by 5 points. Our guard even beat the Grand Champions guard by almost ten, TEN points!" We screamed, "you guys just don't know how I feel right now. Every one of you did an awesome job tonight. Thank you!" We all grouped in for a group hug. I felt Parker kiss me on the back of my head.

We all boarded the bus and it felt like it should. We were all talking and everyone was laughing. We even started singing on the bus. Parker laid on my lap and fell asleep. I started talking to Dave who was sitting in from of me.

"How was your first competition?" I asked. It felt weird to ask that, It was only my second.

"It was great. Better than yours." He laugh.

"That's true," I chuckled "I'm glad you had fun."

"Me too," he said as he touched me hand "I'm really glad I get to spend more time with you Maria."

I pulled my hand away, "Uh..Dave I'm with Parker."

"I know you still like me Maria."

"So what if I do, I Love Parker, Dave."

"Yes, I know, but for some reason I can't accept it."

I sat back in my seat and rubbed Parkers head. I stared out the window and just thought. It was about a 30-minute drive so I had some time to think. I loved Parker. I liked Dave. Parker means so much more to me than Dave does. I don't know why Dave is trying so hard though. I would never leave Parker for Dave but I don't know what I was going to do about Dave.


	12. Dave and North Columbus

**Ch.12-Dave and North Columbus**

The rest of the weekend after Northwood was so much fun. I was in such good spirits. I went shopping at the mall and found some great Colorguard shirts. I arrived Monday morning at school feeling better than usual, not yet aware of what was to come. Every morning when I get to school I go to the band room. This morning when I arrived, the band room was empty. There are usually 3 or 4 people that are in there every morning. I put all my guard stuff in my cubby and sat down in my chair.

About 10 minutes later someone finally showed up. It was Dave. Dave was not the person I really wanted to talk to then, but I needed someone to talk to. Dave sat down beside me. We started talking about random things at first. Then Dave started talking about Saturday night.

"I'm sorry for coming on to you Saturday Maria." Dave said.

"I know, it's okay." I said but I was thinking, "No it's not!"

"I really do like you Maria. Sometimes I even think I love you. It's weird though. I liked you for so long before we went out. Then when we did go out I was so happy, but when you broke up with me Maria, it broke my heart. I have still not let you go yet."

"Dave, I Love Parker. I was afraid of breaking your heart, and I'm sorry that I did. I had to do what was best for me. I couldn't stop comparing you to Parker. I realized that if I was going to do that to you, you deserved so much better. I would never appreciate how you really were if all I did was want what Parker gave me."

"I know, I know Maria. I just can't let you go. I want you so bad. I know that I could make you so much more happier than Parker every could. I could also treat you so much better. You're all I have ever wanted Maria, and so much more."

"No I'm not Dave. I'm weird, I think too much, I'm not funny at all, and I'm no good for you Dave."

"Yes you are Maria. You can't convince me otherwise. I think your great." He started to move closer.

I backed up and said "Dave; I won't go out with you. I don't like you as much as you like me. I'm sorry."

"Oh Maria, I love how you talk." He came closer to me and I couldn't move any farther away.

All of a sudden Dave kissed me. I pushed him away and slapped him. Then I heard something that made my heart stop. Parker's voice.

"Dave, what are you doing?" Parker yelled.

"Uh..um..what are you talking about Parker?" He answered back.

"I saw you kiss her Dave." Parker walked closer, "what in the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I'm sorry Parker, I...I.."

"You what?" Parker said as he walked closer.

"I promise it'll never happen again Parker. I just..."

"You're damn right it will never happen again! Because I'm going to kick your ass."

With that said Parker jumped at Dave and knocked him on the ground. Parker started hitting him as I screamed as loud as I could. I tried to pry Parker off of Dave as Dave hit Parker in the nose. I wasn't strong enough to break the two apart. The door opened to the band room and J came running in. At that moment Parker turned and Dave hit me instead of Parker. I fell to ground in pain. I remember getting hit and waking up, nothing more. Parker said that I came around five minutes after I got hit. I saw Dave sitting in corner shaking. When I looked over at Dave, Parker saw him too and went for him. He hit one good time before J grabbed him.

I just laid back and felt guilty. Guilty that I caused the fight, guilty that I got myself hurt, guilt for getting Parker and Dave hurt. I had never felt so bad in life. I watched as some band kids started coming in as J took Parker into his office, I ran into the guard closet. The guard closet was where anyone in guard went if they felt bad, needed to cry, needed to talk, needed anything at all. It was our safe haven. I went in there and cried until I couldn't cry anymore. It was what I needed. I guessed that I was in there for two periods before I came out. It was during lunch when I came out. J was the only one in there. I walked into his office and sat down.

"You know that I could right you up for skipping?" J said.

"I don't care, go ahead." I replied carelessly.

"You know I wouldn't do that, especially this late in the seasons. Tell me what happened Maria."

I explained everything to J. J always knew everything going on in the band no matter what. We all found him so easy to talk to.

"I figure everyone in the band will know by tomorrow." I said.

"Probably," he said "but I promise I won't tell."

"Thanks J." I left his office and the band room and went into lunch.

J had told me that Dave and Parker were sent home for 3 days. He was happy it wasn't longer because it would have affected our competitions, J was just going to sit them out at the football game. I wasn't really sure I wanted to see either of them at lunch either. I had one of those weird band-aid things on my nose because Dave messed it up. I went and sat with my usual friends at lunch. Ashanti and Morgan tried so hard to get me to tell them what happened, but I couldn't. I don't know what it was, but I just couldn't talk about it. I guess because I was feeling guilty.

I went home and went to bed. I told my mom I ran into a wall at school. I thought that was a good story myself. I have run into a couple walls before. I called Parker and talked to him for awhile. He apologized to me for everything.

"I should have never hit him Maria." He said "I'm sorry. I if wouldn't of hit him you wouldn't have gotten hit."

"Parker it's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. Things just happen sometimes. I would like it if you Dave apologized to each other though, and stopped this crap."

"I will if he will Maria. You mean the world to me."

"I know and Dave is my friend and you are my boyfriend. I don't want ya'll to fight over me."

"Okay, I'll call Dave tonight and talk to him."

The next day at school I had a whole bunch of band people coming up to me and asking me what happened. I just told them there was a fight. The day went by okay though and band practice was hot as usual. I got chewed out my captains because I didn't stay after for practice. I guess they hadn't heard yet. We practice for an hour after the rest of the band left. We accomplished nothing as usual. We usually practice and then just sit around talk. It was our way of letting our stress.

The whole week we practice for the competition. The competition was at North Columbus High School. We were going to have to go early Saturday morning because we were in a parade there too. We weren't able to practice Saturday morning so J wanted to make sure we had enough practice before it. It was a three-hour drive to North Columbus, it was right on the border of North and South Carolina.

Bright and early Saturday morning we loaded the busses. It wasn't out of state, so we couldn't take a Charter Bus. Surprisingly enough Dave sat in front of Parker and me again. I fell asleep on Parker. Almost everybody was asleep for an hour or too, I even woke up to some snoring a couple of times. When the bus was awake we all started singing. J told us that there was no reason we shouldn't win Grand Champions today, so we were getting hyped. I was beginning to think everything would be okay again. Parker and me were okay; we were kind of shaky though. I hadn't talked to Dave.

We got to North Columbus at 9:00 and got ready for the parade. The guard dressed in our wind suits to stay semi-warm while walking and the band in their regular uniforms. There were about 15-20 bands there. Some of the bands we had seen before at other competitions or football games. The Parade went very smooth. It was so long though, and boring. Parades are never the most fun thing to do. After the parade we went and ate lunch at a local mall. Then we went to the actual North Columbus competition.

We changed and warmed up as soon as we got there. We were in class AA again. We had an hour and 5 bands to go. When our time came we marched on the North Columbus field with our heads held high. Our runners planted our flags so we marched in with the band. Our show started.

"Knoxville High School," I heard "you may now take the field for competition." That was something I would never get tired of hearing.

We all ran out onto the field that was ours for the next fifteen minutes. The show went almost flawless. J said he didn't see any major flaws with the band, just off stepping, but it was fixed immediately. We sat and watched the rest of the bands when we were done. It really didn't seem like the bands were as good as the others we competed against, or us even. We sat and waited for the awards to start after the home band played. One of our band captains walked backwards onto the field and videotaped us. We all waved. We sat back and anxiously awaited the awards.

They got to A, then to AA. They started again with the ratings. A few bands were called before us and they got 2 excellent, 1 superior and 1 good so far.

"Knoxville High School" the announcer announced again "Superior!"

We all jumped up and down and screamed. We all saw Ryan (the captain) turn his camera towards us and we all cheered to the camera. The best we had gotten so far. We ended up sweeping our category all over again. It felt so great. Winning, after all our hard work, felt really good. They took an intermission before they announced the class winnings and the Grand Champions. Ryan ran over to us and pointed the camera at us. Another one of our captains sat beside a senior clarinet. They started to interview him like a newscast.

"How does it feel to be winning Andrew?" Mike the captain asked.

"It feels great WOOO!" Andrew yelled.

"You think we'll win Grand Champs?"

"Hell yeah!"

Five minutes after Ryan ran around with camera they started with the awards again. They did it somewhat different this time. They announced Jack Time High as the overall A champs and us as the AA class champs. They announced the 2 top AAA and AAAA band winners also. Here came something we had never had before.

"The top band out of both A and AA classes is" the announcer said "Knoxville High School!"

We started to scream again. That gave us an even better chance to win Grand Champions. We were up against another really good school though. They came over the loud speaker and started to announce the Grand Champions.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. What you all been waiting anxiously for. Sorry about this, but we have to wait for the total calculations."

We waited for the announcer to come back. I swore to myself that if I saw that man in public I would slap him for this.

"Okay people, we have the winner here. The Grand Champions of the 2004 North Columbus High School Band Classic Competition is..."


	13. Breaking Down and Talking Down

The last chapter was darker than the past, but I needed something good to happen. I hope you liked it. I don't know why I haven' gotten any reviews. Is it not good? I don't know. I have had writer's block. It was hard to think of somewhere to go from ch.12. Sorry it took so long..I've been busy.

**Chapter 13-Breaking Down and Talking Down**

"KNOXVILLE HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING TIGERS!"

As soon as I hear those words shouted I ran down the bleachers and jumped over the fence onto the field where our captains were, along with the rest of the band. I found my Guard captains and hugged them, they were both crying. I was too. I had never felt such a rush of energy like this. I ran up to Diane and we hugged and dance around like idiots. I saw Parker in the midst of the people and I ran over to him and jumped into arms. Our whole band was in a trance. Nothing mattered outside of our mass huddle. No one or nothing else existed, it was about us. J made his voice come through the crowd and you heard, "WHO'S THE BEST?"

"WE'RE THE BSET!" we shouted back.

"WHO'S THE BEST?"

"WE'RE THE BEST!"

The band went and grabbed their instruments as J started calling out songs to play. The drumline started and started dancing with their drums, the guard joined along as did much of the band. I saw so many other bands watching our every move, but I didn't care, no one did. Let them look, they wanted what we had, and they couldn't have it for the world. After we played a couple of stand tunes, J ordered us to march out with our heads held high. We lined up, (Drum Majors, Guard, Woodwinds, Brass, Drumline and Pit) in perfect order. We listened to our cadence started and waited for our cue. The cadence started and marched out like the winners we were, with the other bands watching us envy. The all knew we deserved it and they clapped even though they didn't want to.

We got to the busses and played some more stand tunes. After we finished, for real, we loaded the busses. When our bus started it stalled out. The bus wouldn't start. J ran onto our bus and did everything he could to get us started but it didn't work. The school that we were at let us into the gym for the night. We were going to have to stay there for the night because the bus company was closed. The whole band huddled in the gym, and the school staff had already laid out gym mats on the ground. They had blankets set out on each one and extra blankets on the side.

"Okay guys and gals, I know you all will not be going to bed immediately, and neither will I. We are guest here tonight so please, be good. We just won Grand Champions people, please don't show these fine people that we are barbarians." J stepped back as he said that and tripped over a mat. All at once we all busted out laughing. J had fallen on the ground.

From the ground J laughed, "I could fail you all for laughing at me!"

We all jumped on top of him in a big band dog pile and laughed there for a while. It was the moment in our band year that we knew we were destined for so much more this year. We were all so content with each other in the moments before, and we knew that no other band could beat us if we honestly did all we could, with no person giving in the slightest bit.

The different clicks grouped together throughout the night and did their own thing. In our little "click" we played truth or dare, and just sat and talked. I had heard some rumors that people had brought shaving cream for the bus, so needless to say I was a little paranoid to fall asleep. I felt kind of worried when Dave came and sat down with us, but Parker didn't even look at him. Somewhere around five in the morning most everyone was asleep. Dave, some other people, and me were still awake. Dave and I talked about random things and about how it felt to finally win Grand Champions.

Dave never mentioned anything about the days prior to this. You could still faintly see the black around my eyes from where he had hit me. What little swelling I had in my cheek had gone away. I had pretty much put the incident behind me. Of course I did take a picture and put it in my scrapbook. Dave had been there for me when Parker broke up with me before the summer and I could never forget that. I didn't like Dave, but I would never want to lose him as my friend, and I think he knew that too. I ended up falling asleep around six that morning.

At about seven I woke to people giggling. I looked up groggily at my friends and Angelica was putting shaving cream on another one of our friend's (Christy) hand. They started tickling her nose with her hair and she slapped her face. I couldn't keep myself from laughing. I watched them play the trick on a couple other friends and fell back asleep. Our new bus arrived only 30 minutes later.

We all boarded the bus and stayed up the whole trip home. We arrived home and Parker's mother took us out to eat to celebrate. We talked about the competition the whole. I had never experienced anything like that before. I never went on a overnight trip for school. It was so exciting to me. I got home that night and went straight to bed. The next morning we were out of school for a teacher work day so I slept in. I only woke up because someone called my cell phone.

The sound of The Killers "Mr. Brightside" filled my room as it played on my phone. I answered it at about 1:00 p.m.

"Hello." I said sleepily.

"Hey Maria, it's Dave."

"Oh hey..."

"Did I wake you up?"

"Yes, It's okay though, I don't like sleeping that late."

"I'm bored and I was just wondering if you would like to take a walk with me?"

"No funny business right?"

"Right"

"Alright give me about 30 minutes so I can take a shower and stuff okay. Meet me at my house at 1:45."

"Alright," he said, I could hear him smiling "See you soon."

As he got off I heard his mother calling him by his real name, David John. When me and Dave went out all we really did was go walking. I didn't think anything of it when he asked. It was just a walk around the block right? I took my shower and did my morning ritual and then sat outside to wait for Dave. I grabbed my flag while I was waiting and started practicing my routine. I didn't know it but Dave had walked up and was watching me from behind. I did a toss with my flag and it went to high and fell behind me. As it did I heard and yelp, and turned around to see Dave holding his arm.

"Oh my god Dave!" I said "I am so so so sorry!" I was starting laugh as I said it.

He gulped as he replied, "It's okay Maria, I know better than that stay away from a flag girl spinning."

I laughed and said "Alright I'll put this up and we can get going."

When I came back out Dave was laying on the ground staring up at the sky. I laid there with him and we talked for a while about what we saw in the clouds and then took off on our walk. Dave told me about the girls he likes. I told him he should ask one of them out, he said there was something in the way. We walked for what seemed like hours and I again realized what it was about Dave that caught my attention. His ability to make me forget about Parker. He was so sweet and shy, but outrageous at the same time. The things he said just grabbed your attention but he always said them like he cared so much. We ended up at a playground near our houses and swung on the swings.

"You Maria, I'm not trying anything," Dave started "but I think your beautiful."

I bushed "Thank you."

"Sometimes I just don't know what you see in Parker. I saw how unhappy he made you over the summer and even sometimes now, and I just don't know why you stay with him. You are too beautiful to be so sad."

I blushed again and I didn't know what to say.

"Sometimes I just want to hit him for making you so sad. You don't deserve it, but I keep my composer because I know you love him. I love you Maria, and that is why I want you to be happy, even with Parker."

I started to cry, "I'm sorry Dave. You know how I feel, and I am so happy that you want me to be happy."

I got up and gave him a hug. He wiped my tears away and hugged me back. That was probably more of a relationship than we had while we were going out. He really was sweet. I guess I missed that part of him. He gave me so much comfort, and yet I still wanted Parker. What if Dave was right, what if Parker didn't deserve me...

That night Parker came over and we hung out. I was having so much fun with him and had completely forgotten about what Dave said. We tickled each other and talked about marching band a lot. I didn't think about what happened earlier until I saw Dave the next day. I really didn't feel any different about him, but did he feel the same about me?


	14. The Dance

I think I might need to start begging for some reviews..lol. Well I hope everyone likes my story. Tell me what I could do next. REVIEW!

**Ch. 14- The Dance**

The next day at practice my two captains cornered me.

"Maria why weren't you in practice yesterday?" Hope said.

"No one told me there was practice..." I started.

"Well there was, and that is the fifth practice you have missed."

"I am so sorry; I've just been having a lot of problems in my life, with school and everything." I had stretched the truth some, I had no problems in school, but what would it seem like if my boyfriend was more important than guard.

"Well you need to figure something else because if you miss one more practice Maria, you're off this team."

They walked away and left me speechless. Would they really kick me off the team?

I was tortured all day at practice. I was so scared of what was going to happen. I paid attention the whole practice and put everything into it. I had only missed practices. I had never missed a game, competition or parade. I felt like I just needed time to relax. After practice no one in guard talked to me. I just went home and cried. I wouldn't be able to be happy without guard. I just needed to get away.

I bought tickets to a school at school the next day. Parker didn't want to go so I had to find someone else to go with. I decided to ask Ashanti that night.

"Hey Ashanti." I said.

"Hey Maria, what's up?"

"Nothing, you want to be my date for the dance?" I said laughing.

"Sure, sounds good," she laughed, "Ill see you tomorrow night then, I'm not coming to school tomorrow."

"All right, bye."

At practice on Thursday, Hope took me aside and talked to me.

"Maria, I realize now that you have been having some tough times. I am sorry that we thought about dropping you. You are a real asset to our team and again I apologize." She said.

"Thank you Hope, but I understand I will try my best not to miss anymore practices."

We got up and hugged. I was so happy that I didn't get kicked off, I told myself. I walked over to my drill spot and started marching with the band. That practice was one of the best I had had in a while. Although I couldn't wait to get home and go to the dance. I got home and change into a blue jean skirt and a blue button up shirt.

"Well, I look mighty fine." I said to myself as I laughed.

My mom took me to pick up Ashanti and we went to the dance. We walked into our school gym and it was dark, but had colored lights going every which way. I saw a lot of kids on the floor dancing and a lot sitting on the bleachers. Ashanti and me walked over to where Ashanti's boyfriend Ray was. We sat down and started talking to Ray and his friends Chris and Ervin. I saw Dave walk in and he headed over to where we were sitting.

"Hey Maria." He said.

"Hey, I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Me neither, but my friend Mike talked me into it, and I don't even know if he's here yet!" He sighed.

"Well, you can hang out with us, I promise Ashanti won't bite."

"HEY!" Ashanti shouted and hit me.

"Gosh I was just kidding." We started laughing.

We all sat and talked for a while until they started playing slower songs. Ray asked Ashanti to dance, which was so cute as I might add, and Chris, Ervin, Dave, and me just sat on the bleachers. I watched Ashanti and Ray dance for a while and then the songs got really slow. The Dj played "The Reason" by Hoobastank.

The Dj started talking, "Ok guys and gals, everyone grab a dance partner, and I mean EVERYONE, or else were kicking you out!"

I started to search around for someone to dance with and then I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Chris.

"Maria, would you dance with me?" He asked.

I was a little surprised so I stuttered when I answered "yes."

As we were walking away Dave looked a little sad. I smiled at him and then he went and asked my friend Katie to dance with him.

"Don't you move anywhere when this song is done kids, 'cause we got another one coming up." The Dj said.

The song ended and Usher's "Burn" came on. I heard someone call my name and Ashanti started mouthing something to me. I turned back around to see Chris leaving and Dave grabbing my hands.

"If you don't mind I'm going to take over," he smiled; "I've always wanted to dance with you."

I smiled at him and he grabbed my waist and pulled me towards him. I put my arms around him as a reflex and we started dancing to the music. We got turned around and I ended up facing Ashanti. She put her hands up like she was asking what? I shrugged to answer her question. The Dj played Britney Spears' "Everytime." Dave and I continued to dance and then he started to talk to me.

"Is this awkward Maria?" He asked.

"Somewhat, yes." I answered.

"I'm sorry, we can go sit down if you want."

I hesitated, because I really didn't want to sit down, "No, it's ok."

I laid my head on his shoulder and thought to myself. What is going on with me? This can't be happening. I looked up at Dave to see him smiling at me.

"You know Maria," he started, "you're not doing anything wrong. The man said if you don't dance, you'll get kicked out. So it's like you had no choice, but I hope that you wanted to dance with me."

I chuckled, "Oh I wanted to dance, I just feel that it should be Parker dancing with me." I stood there for a minute and talked again, "I need to go to the restroom."

I walked to the restroom and looked at myself in the mirror.

"Why am I dancing with him?" I thought to myself, "I wish it was Parker."

There. It was settled. No more thinking about Dave. No more wondering about him. I cared about Parker, and only Parker. There were just those times that I wondered how better it could be with someone else. Even if it could get better with Dave, I only wanted Parker.

_BANG_

I turned around and saw Brittany hit the floor. She looked up at me, and in her eyes I saw how drunk she was.

"Oh shit," I said, "Brittany what are doing, what happened?"

"I just wanted to have a little fun," she slurred, "So I drunk a little alcohol."

"A little?" I mumbled, "You stay right here, I'll be right back."

I walked back into the dance and saw Dave sitting on the bleachers. As I walked toward him I thought about the game the next night. J was going to be pissed about her not being able to perform. Dave looked up at me.

"Maria.." He started.

"Dave I'm sorry but I have to go, an um...friend of mine is in trouble. Thank you for tonight, please tell Ashanti I had to leave."

I hugged him quickly and called my mom and told her Brittany would be staying with us. I went back in to the bathroom and put a cold rag on Brittany's face. I didn't know what to do. I've never been drunk before. My mom picked us up and Brittany didn't say a word. I called her dad when we arrived home and told him she was staying with me. I put her into my bed without my mom noticing anything.

"What am I going to do?" I said looking at her.


End file.
